One of the things we’re the most proud of at Boost Education is our longstanding and very popular annual Spelling Bee. The event invites teachers and parents from across East London to participate in a gathering where primary school students display their spelling prowess that will secure their place in the highly anticipated finals.

In a setting designed to bring parents, teachers and students together in a fun and engaging way, the Boost Education Spelling Bee is the culmination of successive competitions that allow the best of the best to test their mettle against one another.

Competitive by its nature, the Spelling Bee’s ultimate aim, however, is to help students develop and improve their vocabularies, increase memory capacity, overcome language and grammar challenges and do it in an environment that is fun and conducive to learning. Developed for primary school learners, our contestants are grouped from Years1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 and participate during four contests throughout the year.

Here’s a closer look at each round and how learners progress to the final contest:

Class Rounds: Autumn is the season when students enter the contest and are presented with a pool of words to learn. Teachers conduct weekly tests for the duration of the term, after which the first round of contests are held to qualify the winners that will proceed to the next round.

School Rounds: The winners of the class rounds will compete to become participants in the school final. Here, our contestants are given an extra 50 words to master during the spring term and face off with other winners of the class rounds. During each stage, winners’ details are submitted to Boost Education for acknowledgements and to ensure that they are prepared for the subsequent rounds.

School Final: During this stage, students are provided an additional 50 words to memorise before a final school contest is held. Learners are tested on 200 words selected at random, from which will emerge the finalists who will battle it out for the title of Spelling Bee Champion.

The Boost Education Spelling Bee Final: Contestants will need to memorise an additional pool of 100 words for the final. Held at the end of the summer term, the final is a true test of spelling and linguistic feat with a total of 300 words selected at random. Given one minute to complete a word, students will compete at a prestigious venue for some amazing prizes and the title of Spelling Bee Champion. May the best speller win!

Getting the community involved to enrich the education experience

Involvement is key to what makes the Boost approach to education a success. Our Spelling Bee plays an important role in fostering the collaborative and communal culture that permeates our structures, curricula and education experiences.

Schools, parents and learners are encouraged to get involved and make the annual contest an engaging and rewarding experience for all involved. Events such as these get greater and lasting momentum if supported by the broader community, so join in and get involved in helping our youth develop and discover their unique and special talents.

Why are spelling bees important?

Beyond a healthy competitive spirit, spelling bees are designed to help kids develop their cognitive functions, expressive range and communication skills, while fostering a sense of confidence in young learners. This is especially important for students in their formative years as difficulty learning your first language (English in particular) inevitably causes challenges in communication, expression and assimilation with peers.

Further, learning to foster a love and reverence for language at an early age may uncover a hidden talent or propensity for pursuing a career in this area of the human sciences. Parents can look forward to seeing their students compete with top spellers from schools across East London. And based on the overwhelming success of the 2015/16 Spelling Bee Final, we expect to see another hotly contested, warm-spirited and fun-packed Spelling Bee Championship in 2017.

We encourage all parents to jump in and brush up on their vocabulary and coaching skills by helping their kids prepare for the contest – you may just be surprised how many new words your child can teach you! For more information on the upcoming Spelling Bee, contact your nearest Boost Education centre today.